So Chasing Life, one of my favorite new shows of the last few years, got cancelled earlier this month. Worse still (depending on how you look at things) it ended with most of its ongoing plots unresolved, including the one where Brenna Carver dealt with the return of ex-girlfriend and fellow cinnamon roll Greer Danville to Boston. The episode itself indicated that Brenna was getting ready for a night out with Greer at the New England Aquarium, before being interrupted by other events. We never got to see the date, which is an absolute crime, particularly since we hadn’t seen Greer all season. So I wrote it.

At the entrance to the New England Aquarium, Greer Danville tried not to pace.
She wasn’t normally this anxious. Correction: she wasn’t normally this visibly anxious. Correction correction: she wasn’t normally this excited. Yes, that was better. In any case, it was all Brenna Carver’s fault.

Greer had not known what to expect when she’d showed up at Brenna’s house the previous day. The two former girlfriends were still on friendly terms, and their break-up had everything to do with external factors and nothing to do with the way they actually felt about each other, but still, a lot could change in five months. Brenna’s social media feed, at least, had suggested some level of moving on, and Greer had convinced herself that she was fine with that, if that was the case.

At this point, I think it’s safe to say that we will almost certainly not be seeing Greer this season. Given production schedules, the abridged episode order, and her role in the show, there’s no reason for us not to have heard about Gracie Dzienny’s return, if it were going to happen. This, on one hand, is disappointing, because Greer is absolutely wonderful. On the other hand, it’s also super-interesting, largely because if this were any other show, there’s no way she wouldn’t be around. At this point, it’s impossible for the writers not to know that she’s a fan favorite. There’s no scheduling conflicts that I’m aware of that would have prevented her from being around, unless Dzienny is simply not focusing on acting right now. The only reason I can think of for her absence is that the writers are incredibly committed to a plan, and that plan means that Greer cannot be in the picture for now.

The weird thing, though, is, that as “The Life of Brenna” shows, Greer is very much still in the picture: the episode is framed by an e-mail communications between her and Brenna, marking Greer as a confidant and repository of all of her former girlfriend’s angst about changing schools, her sister April’s cancer, and a life that seems to be spinning out of her control. She is obliquely alluded to when the show alludes to a character’s mentally ill ex, which accurately describes Greer during the second half of the first season. If there was ever an episode that merited a cameo, this was it. But no. Not that the episode suffers for this absence, as even without our favorite eco-club president, “Life of Brenna” still manages to be a fantastic showcase for its title character. Lee el resto de esta entrada »